Before anyone asks the Spurs to appear en masse on the next episode of "Derek," Ricky Gervais' thoughtful look at retirement home living, let's assess a few benefits of being old and reliable: San Antonio has finished first-first-second in the West over the last three seasons. Plus, the Spurs aren't really all that old; Kawhi Leonard, the team's new No. 3 option, is barely out of his Nickelodeon Jr. stage.

Chris Paul + Rivers = NBA Finals? It's certainly possible, but a few things have to happen for the league's onetime lottery-pick franchise to reach the elite level. First, Blake Griffin needs to become a late-game offensive option and DeAndre Jordan must morph into a defensive force. If the Clippers can also improve their three-point shooting, well, see you in June.

Hello, anyone there besides Kevin Durant for the next four to six weeks? A team already dealing with separation anxiety after the departure of Kevin Martin now must gird itself for a month or more without Russell Westbrook and his worrisome right knee. Even the spindly wonder known as Durantula may not be enough to keep the Thunder from taking an early-season tumble in the standings.

As consolation prizes go, you can do a lot worse than Iguodala. The Warriors couldn't entice Dwight Howard but landed a lockdown perimeter defender who can also help facilitate one of the league's most dynamic offenses. The flip side is that they must replace Jack and Landry, whose toughness and court savvy rival anyone's.

As the Lakers learned last season, the euphoria of landing Howard can quickly go from "Yay!" to "Yowzers!" Howard hasn't developed a go-to move around the basket after nine NBA seasons, and it might take a NASA engineer to fix his misadventures at the free-throw line. At least he's lots of fun in the locker room before games.

Grit-and-grind is giving way to get-the-shot-off-ASAP under Joerger, an analytics adherent who noted that big men Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol have been more effective scorers in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock while playing together. Mike Conley is fully capable of giving the offense some vroom.

Ricky Rubio's knee injury derailed the Timberwolves' playoff hopes in 2012. Last season, it was Kevin Love's hand. If the rest of the roster can get full-body protection from Lloyd's of London, then maybe the team will reach the postseason for the first time since 2004. Martin adds some needed consistent scoring and Brewer can be an occasional revelation off the bench.

As best-case scenarios go, the Lakers' won't amount to much. If Kobe Bryant returns intact (and relatively early in the season), Pau Gasol and Kaman combine to give opponents 14 feet of hell, Nick Young plays a shred of defense and Steve Nash, 39, doesn't dissolve into dust before our eyes … the Lakers could make the playoffs!

Shaw may discover that head coaching jobs aren't always as fun as they seem from the safety of the No. 2 gig. He'll have to deal with JaVale McGee's unfulfilled potential and Danilo Gallinari's knee injury, which could keep the dynamic small forward out until December. Wait, why did Shaw want this job again?

General Manager Neil Olshey is a smart guy, which means he knows his overhaul of the Trail Blazers might take more time to result in a playoff appearance. McCollum's broken foot won't help. On the plus side, Olshey added some quality depth to support the core of LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Damian Lillard.

The Pelicans hope to be all about transformation, from the new nickname to Evans finding a niche to suit his skills to Eric Gordon making it through a full season after playing in only 51 of a possible 148 games since joining the franchise. Holiday gives New Orleans its first upper-echelon point guard since Chris Paul's departure.

Strange but true fact: The Mavericks are only two years removed from an NBA title. Sad but true reality: It's probably going to take a lot longer for them to become contenders again. Their latest makeover has left them with a mishmash of parts that aren't going to add up to much in what could be Dirk Nowitzki's final season here.

Having been granted a reprieve from moving to Seattle, the Kings cannot escape being once again unfit for NBA competition. Their prospects were dicey even before Landry suffered a torn hip flexor that could sideline him for the season's first four months. There's also the matter of how Malone will coexist with the capricious DeMarcus Cousins.

Wait, so the Jazz actually meant to acquire past-their-prime Richard Jefferson and Biedrins and their combined $20 million in salary? If this is what it takes to take a stab at drafting Andrew Wiggins and give youngsters Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter a shot at carrying the team, well, get ready for lots of losses along the way.

The Gortat trade leaves Phoenix without four of its top five scorers from last season, signaling a white-flag approach. Okafor's scoring average has dropped in each of the last six seasons and he sat out the entire preseason with a herniated disk in his neck that will sideline him indefinitely.